a blog supplementing the Images of America book from Arcadia Publishing

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Downtown 1958

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

P.V. Lawson, Part One

May 2, 1965, Appleton Post-Crescent

This two part article is a good insight into Menasha's renaissance man, Publius V. Lawson, Jr. In his 67 years, Lawson was labeled many things- attorney, politician, businessman, author, historian, lecturer, inventor, and six term mayor of Menasha. In the "Hall of Heroes," should Menasha ever have one, his name would be riding near the top along side the likes of Curtis Reed, Elisha D. Smith, George Banta, John Strange, William Gilbert, George Whiting and many others who made Menasha the pride of the Fox Valley. I'll provide part two of this feature in tomorrow's blog post.

1 comment:

As David mentions here, anyone with an interest in the history of Menasha or Winnebago County owes a great debt to Publius Virgilius Lawson, Jr. His many writings contain information that you just can't find in any other easily-accessible reference. He wrote authoritatively and at quite some length on a variety of topics, including some in which he received no formal training, such as archeology. His love of and loyalty to his home town was reflected in his many efforts to stimulate commerce, both as a businessman and as six-term mayor. He was truly a Renaissance man and, I must say, a giant.

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Menasha was carved from the northeastern Wisconsin wilderness in the late 1840s. At the confluence of the Fox River and Lake Winnebago, the town’s early entrepreneurs and industrialists sought the promise of waterpower to fuel their mills and kick-start the engine of commerce. Taming the Fox with dams, canals, and a lock, Menasha initially made its mark with flour mills and lumber-based industry. At one time, the city was home to the largest manufacturer of wood-turned products in the world. In the late 19th century, however, the tides of change once again washed upon the city and industrial focus shifted to the paper industry. What made Menasha great were dependable waterpower, plentiful rail connections to centers of commerce in Milwaukee and Chicago, and a prolific labor force that coincided with an influx of European immigrants.